Author's note: Thank you to NotMarge, ZabuzasGirl, Rasha007, Luna von Rae, NicoleR85, Shelllee24, partygirl98, musicjunkie1996, Jinxofthe2ndLaw, and kmj1989 for the reviews! I'm glad no one was upset that I killed off Nicholas. He was so terribly awful that I didn't feel bad at all. We're going to have enough jerks running around without him adding to the mix! And Jinx, I love that idea. Thank you for that! I'm going to try to work it in somehow. And musicjunkie- there will be some short jumps, but nothing too big yet.

So, today Hank "comes out" to Zoey's godparents. The parallels are pretty obvious here. I think that's one of the reasons X-Men resonates with so many people- even if we're talking about people who have superpowers, some of their struggles are mirrored in our own.

The Game Plan

"What are we going to do if they freak out?" I asked Zoey tentatively. "If they try to disown you? What will we do if your own family-"

"It's not going to come to that," she said in a very firm voice. "Don't worry, Hank. Just trust me, ok?"

Her certainty was soothing, though it didn't completely dispel my anxiety.

"Ok," I agreed, still unsure.

We were sitting in the Jaguar outside of the Rivers' house the next evening, mentally preparing ourselves for what had the potential to be a heart-wrenching confrontation.

I was not looking forward to it, but I knew it had to be done at some point. So when Zoey suggested we go over for the usual Sunday dinner with her godparents I reluctantly agreed.

This was going to be the first time Billy and Marceline ever saw me as Beast. They didn't even know about my second mutation, since we never saw any reason to tell them about it.

No one in the general public had seen me yet- it had started raining last night and hadn't stopped since (to my relief and Zoey's dismay, considering how much she abhorred precipitation), so there weren't many people out and about this weekend.

I hadn't even run into anyone in the lobby of our building, which we'd returned to temporarily while we looked for a house. With Nicholas feeling properly afraid of me and carrying that warning back to the FOH, we decided it was safe enough for now.

Zoey was characteristically dispirited about the weather- my love was meant for clear skies and sunshine, not pouring rain and anything else that would mess up her hair. Combined with the fact that she was still feeling tired from her ordeal Friday night and just being pregnant in general, she was quite content to lounge around the apartment rather than going to the grocery store, as was our custom on the weekend.

I was secretly quite agreeable to that. I was in no rush to face the world's acrimony, though I knew it would inevitably happen sooner or later. Unlike the years immediately following my second mutation when I was younger, I wouldn't consign myself to living in the shadows because of my appearance anymore.

Zoey deserved better than a life like that.

She also deserved a life where she could live without persecution over what her husband was, but being married to me made that rather unavoidable.

Let's just get this over with.

I sighed and got out of the car, grabbing an umbrella as I went. I opened it and used it to shield Zoey from the rain as I helped her out.

"It'll be fine, darling," she promised, standing on tiptoe to give me a kiss.

And then she practically dragged me up the walkway to the front door. We entered without knocking, as was usual for us.

"Billy, Marcy, we're here!" Zoey called out as I shut the door behind me.

"Ah, ma petite," Marceline's voice cried, coming closer from somewhere within the house.

Here goes everything.

"How is my grandbaby treating you to-?" she asked as she rounded into the foyer.

And then Marceline gasped and clutched at her chest when she saw me, like I'd given her a heart attack.

Yeah, hi. I get that a lot.

"Morbleu! H-hank, is that you?" she sputtered. "What on earth-?"

I had to give Marceline credit- her reaction seemed more surprised that a man she'd known for years had shown up looking completely different from before, rather than repulsed or horrified of said difference.

"Yes, it's me," I replied, avoiding her eyes.

Her expression clearly implied we had some explaining to do.

"Let's sit down and talk," Zoey suggested brightly, as undaunted as ever.

Marceline nodded slowly and led the way into her living room, casting furtive glances over her shoulder all the while. Though her bemusement was considerably better than outright fear, the ogling still set my teeth on edge.

I might as well get used to it, I thought grimly.

Billy was sitting in his favorite dilapidated armchair in the living room, reading the Sunday paper. Marceline walked over behind him and stood there, waiting for us to speak.

"Hey, guys," Billy greeted us, glancing over his newspaper as Zoey and I sat down on the sofa.

And then he did a double take and practically fell out of his chair.

"Kid? Is that you?" he asked suspiciously.

I nodded.

"What happened to you? What's going on?"

Zoey squeezed my hand, silently communicating support.

I took a deep breath. I wasn't even sure how to explain this.

"When I was seventeen," I began hesitantly, "I had an accident when I tried to create a serum to hide the physical attributes of my mutation. It turned me into this instead."

I gestured to myself.

"Eventually I derived another formula that repressed this second mutation in the hopes that I could live a relatively normal life," I continued. "But recent events have shown me that it's no longer safe for me to use my serum anymore."

"'Recent events?'" Marceline queried.

"Nick found out about us and ratted to the Friends of Humanity," Zoey explained. "They took me hostage the other day in the hopes that they could force Hank to make a 'cure' for being a mutant."

"What-?"

"That bastard!" Marceline hissed.

And then she let out a stream of rapid-fire French that wasn't exactly suitable for print.

"Nick has been taken care of," Zoey assured them. "Chloe kicked him out, and he won't be bothering us anymore."

"And neither will the FOH," I added. "I think they learned on Friday not to cross us. And now that my serum is gone, there's no reason for other groups to come after my family."

I looked down at Zoey meaningfully as she snuggled against my arm. I kissed the crown of her head, afraid of showing too much affection in front of her godparents in my current state.

My eyes met Billy's and a moment of silent communication passed between us.

You'll live like this to protect her? he seemed to ask with his eyes.

Yes. For her, anything.

He frowned, and I imagined that he was considering our uncertain future. How would his goddaughter fare out in the world with such a husband? What hardships would she face?

I could only hope Billy wouldn't ask me to leave Zoey for her own sake. As selfless as I tried to be, I didn't think I could bear that. And what of our baby?

"S-so you've been hiding this the whole time we've known you?" Marceline asked tentatively, tearing my thoughts away from our imminent problems.

At my nod, she looked at Zoey. "Did you know?"

"Yes," my wife replied. "I've known about Hank's second mutation since the first night we ever really talked. I didn't mention it to you because it wasn't my secret to tell."

Marceline rounded on me, the question evident in her expression.

"I was afraid," I told her, with painful honesty, "that you would tell me to stay away from Zoey if you knew what I was. I wouldn't blame you for it, but I-"

I loved her too much to let her go. Even if it was selfish, even if it still is now.

Billy let out a wry chuckle. "You being such a chicken shit about talking to her makes complete sense now," he observed dryly.

I winced, but I could feel Zoey shaking from repressed laughter next to me.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Bill," Marceline scolded reproachfully. "Don't make it harder for him than it already is."

"Yeah, yeah," Billy said, waving his hand dismissively. But when he spoke he was serious. "Hank, you obviously love my goddaughter, and I know you're a good man. This doesn't change my opinion of you."

"And me either," his wife agreed. "You're still the same person, cher."

I let out a mental sigh of relief.

Thank heavens.

Billy tried not to grin when he saw me visibly relax over their acceptance. "What we need to worry about is getting everybody else in this town to be ok with you," he said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair.

"Do you honestly think people will ever look at me like this and not be afraid?" I asked rhetorically.

Billy and Marceline exchanged reluctant glances. Their hesitance was disheartening, to say the least.

"I think you should just go out and be normal," Zoey announced. "If you act normal, people will treat you that way."

"You don't think they'll cause a scene or run away screaming?" I argued incredulously.

She shook her head. "I think you underestimate the desire people have to just go about their day without trouble," she replied. "We'll get some strange looks, yeah, but if you're acting like any other person and not causing problems I don't see many having the gumption to say anything."

"But-"

"Zoey has a point," Marceline mused. "Just think of the Nazis during the War. How many Germans took a stand against them? Even in France, many of us found it easier to outwardly go along with the Vichy government to survive, rather than resist."

I'm being compared to the Nazi Occupation? Great.

Billy noticed my dismay, because he chose that moment to chime in. "I think what Marceline is trying to say is, most people would rather not bother taking that much of a stand, even if you scare them. People in groups are funny that way. It's only the truly brazenly ignorant who will take the trouble to speak up, especially if you're acting like any other human being."

"And those that do cause problems," Zoey concluded with quiet conviction, "will answer to me."

Listening to her indomitable determination, I could almost believe she was right.